IWD 2022: Championing the roadmap to a diversified workforce

A proud moment and career highlight: Launching the NZ chapter of Meat Business Women.

Author’s note: On reflection, the opening to this felt almost ‘apologetic’ and I considered whether to remove part of it. I’ve decided to leave it in it’s rawest form, in the hopes that it will resonate with others.

The thought of writing an opinion piece terrifies me. I love reading them and digesting the often clever and interweaving messages constructed within them… But the idea of penning one myself is enough to keep me up at night. The best way I can think to articulate the reason why, ironically, underpins that very statement.

What compels me to read an opinion piece is the fact they’re usually centred around a topic close to my heart or at the very least, something I care enough about to dedicate time to reading. Op-eds are generally based upon, whilst not always contentious in themselves, deeply rooted personal beliefs and, for the most part, well-intentioned passionate supporters or rejectors.

So, putting pen to paper on an issue like gender equality in the meat industry, let alone aligning to a stronger theme of this year’s United Nations International Women’s Day - #BreakTheBias, will almost certainly open me up to criticism from some. Whether it be for leaning too far one way or, even more blandly disappointing, for sitting on the fence. I am nervous I won’t be able to clearly convey my opinion, I’ll forget to mention something, I won’t do it justice, I’ll offend, or I’ll fail. And that fear, I believe (very much prefacing this as my personal opinion), is what often holds me back as a woman working in a male-dominated field.

This barrier, which is not an isolated one I should add, is the reason why I feel obliged to stand up and shout about the shortcomings I see within our industry and bear the weight of others I know, and those I don’t, on my shoulders while doing so.

Yet I also feel compelled to defend those in the industry who have not only been my biggest cheerleaders but have championed the cause long before it was given a hashtag.

When it comes to the meat sector, the reason I’m here working to grow the Global Meat Alliance, the World Butchers’ Challenge community and, alongside Laura Ryan, Meat Business Women, all centres around people. I count myself extremely lucky that every day I go to work, I have contact with some of the most humble, passionate and caring people; from the producers who grow our food to those who so expertly present it on our plates.

From an outsider’s perspective, the meat industry is often considered as old-fashioned and backwards. And whilst my reality couldn’t be further from the truth, the statistics clearly show the sector is unfairly balanced in respect to gender and diversity. In fact, the latest global numbers reveal only just 36% of the meat industry workforce are female with women holding just 14% of board level director roles and just 5% of chief executive roles.

It’s not just a lack of diversity facing the industry. Like all other sectors, we have work to do in facing incredibly monstrous challenges in adapting to how we continue to feed the world and foster a healthy planet. But, as far as I’ve seen, many in our sector are up for the challenge, we just need the spaces and forums to collaborate, to learn but also to educate.

I’ve seen the best of the industry including the diversity and the incredible women within it who have the courage and skillset to invoke this change. Yet, I’m well aware this is very much my experience and not a full representation. We still have a long journey ahead to broadening the talent pool in the sector to capture a more balanced and equal workforce moving forward. This requires as much of an internal shift, as it does in building the reputation of our industry to the public, in particular our younger generations.   

So, to help address the inequality in our sector, my take-aways:

We need to spotlight the women in our sector doing amazing things. We need to make this a conscious part of everything we do. Days like International Women’s Day (IWD) are great initiatives to trigger change; or moments in which we reflect and make an effort to do something differently. In this month’s GMA Insights Report, we encourage our network to do exactly that. But I challenge you to keep up the momentum every day so next year’s IWD doesn’t become the next time you’re signalled to do more, rather the level of scrutiny around values and practices is even stronger.

We need to demand change within our individual organisations, associations and networks to support more women entering the sector and in climbing career ladder. Whilst it seems contradictory, we should be putting strategies and benchmarks in place to shift the dial (the flipside being it should be a non-negotiable), some accountability, particularly at board level, will see progress made. If you haven’t already, I’d strongly suggest taking a look at the Meat Business Women Gender Representation Report* which details a comprehensive checklist of what individuals, organisations and the sector as a whole can embark on to instigate and champion change.

We need to #BreakTheBias, both internally and the way in which we want to be seen by the rest of the world.  

And as women already here in the industry, we need to be bold, courageous and fearless in embracing the complexity and diversity of our thinking, including the layers of passion and emotions we can bring to the table. Thinking about the challenges and opportunities that lay ahead, it just might be our saving grace.

- Ashley Gray, Co-Founder, Global Meat Alliance

*Note: The next round of data collection is planned for later this year and the second iteration of this report will be released thereafter to track progress, summarise current insight and detail next steps. You can find more at meatbusinesswomen.org